


Sunrise

by EternalElegy



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:41:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25491790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalElegy/pseuds/EternalElegy
Summary: Not all of Hiyori's life was fine weather, but fine weather was always in sight whenever Eden was around.Dedicated to Hiyori's birthday
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	Sunrise

Hiyori didn’t know any better, and neither did his brother. 

They were only children after all, running around in their backyard without a care for the world. They were happy. They were innocent. It was all smiles as they were completely immersed in their own little fantasy world of superpowers, villains, crumbling cities and damsels in distress. They were always happy to take turns being the good guy and the bad guy; besides, there was always some fun being either. The heroes got all of the sparkles and the praise from saving the world, while the villains could have equally cool superpowers, dramatic deaths and most importantly, the right to use that deep, evil laugh that always got the other party cracking up. There was always some fight about who had the better evil laugh, and who sounded most like the bad guys on those cartoons that they watched occasionally on TV.

“Mwahaha! This is my great dinosaur robot, bigger than your biggest skyscrapers!” Hiyori’s brother lowered his voice, straightening up to make himself look as tall as possible. “I’ll destroy everything, and you can’t stop me!”   
“Oh yes I can!” Hiyori countered after giggling, puffing out his chest and putting his hands on his hips. In his mind, Hiyori could see himself standing on top of a building in his superhero suit, complete with a cape that flowed in the wind. “I can take you down with my ultimate move!”    
“Your best move? Hah! I bet it’s super weak!”    
“No, it’s not! I’ll show you! Mega punch!!” Hiyori screamed, launching himself forward with a balled fist. 

His tiny child’s fist was no longer that in his fantasies. Hiyori had all the power in the world, condensed into his hand, as he shot forward towards the massive mech that dwarfed him. He may be small in comparison to his nemesis’s greatest weapon, but he was powerful, and he had the glowing bright light in his hand to show it, and he planned to drive all of that energy into the heart of the robot and blow it up from the inside out. It was the perfect plan, the perfect way to defeat his enemy in the flashiest way possible. Hiyori looked forward to every single moment of it.

Of course, in real life, he was just running over as fast as his little legs would allow him, and his fist connected with his brother’s chest with enough force to knock him over.   
“Oh no! My robot!” Hiyori’s brother cried out, pretending to struggle as the dinosaur mech in his imagination began to fizz and eventually explode.   
“Yay! I win! The world is safe!” Hiyori pumped a fist in the air triumphantly as a crowd in his mind cheered.

That moment didn’t last long. 

“How many times have I told you not to hurt your brother?” Their mother was instantly at the scene, examining the child on the ground.    
“But mom, I’m fine!” Hiyori’s brother attempted to reassure his mother.   
“Yeah, see? I defeated the bad guy, but I didn’t hurt him! I only destroyed his robot!” Hiyori defended himself, but that didn’t stop his mother from glaring at him.   
“At least your brother is fine, but what if it had been worse? You could have hurt him!”

Silence. Hiyori sulked. 

“No more play-fighting! As punishment, you’re not allowed to watch your favourite cartoon for three days!”

Hiyori sulked harder.

* * *

The parties that Hiyori’s parents attended sounded boring from the way that he was told about it all, and he was right.

They were in some kind of massive hall with lots of flowers and velvet and everything in general was nice and pretty. Hiyori would have loved to explore the area… except his parents told him way too many times that he was to be nice, smile, and not to cause any trouble. Not to cause any trouble was emphasised so many times that Hiyori even heard his parents speak those exact words to him in a dream the previous night.

It was boring. The food tasted good though. Hiyori was introduced to his parents’ friends and the adults were all polite to him, but then he saw it. The way their expressions lit up significantly more when his older brother was introduced to them. 

This was- no, this was normal. It had always been like this. He was just an accessory to his brother’s success. It was drilled into him over and over again, enough that he truly believed from the bottom of his heart that he was nothing more than just a flower in the background before he reached ten years of age.

From the moment that he was born, Hiyori was thrown head-first in the war-zone known as society, and inequality was part of the package. He was inferior. His brother was superior. There was nothing that he could do to change that, to take back the times when he received punishment whenever he tried to assert his existence too much, the moments when the adults approved of his brother’s success much more than his, the nights when he silently cried into his pillow, wondering why this was happening to him. 

All he could do was stand there as strangers fawned over his brother, because he would get scolded if he did anything else other than stand there and look pretty. He wondered what his parents would do if he disappeared one day. Would they be sad? Would they be happy? Would they even notice?

“Hiyori, are you okay?” Only now did Hiyori realise that tears had pricked the corners of his eyes as his brother came into view.    
“Don’t worry, I’m fine!” That cute smile was his biggest weapon, and he was not afraid to use it on his brother if it meant protecting himself. The worst thing that could happen was for his parents to find out that he was putting on a bad show for his family by crying.

Did his parents even love him? 

Hiyori held onto that small sliver of hope that they did, purely based on the fact that he was still being fed and sheltered by them.

* * *

A friend. Someone that he could call an equal. Those were the people that Hiyori always cherished with all of his heart, because they acknowledged him as a person and not just as a stupid second son who was never going to shine. 

His name was Nagisa. Nagisa Ran. Hiyori liked that name. Nagisa was a really quiet kid, and he never spoke properly, but the fact that he was roughly around the same age as Hiyori was more than enough to motivate him to start deepening their relationship. Nagisa was really pretty, especially with his long, silvery hair. His voice was really soft. His expressions, whenever he showed them, were also really soft. If Hiyori was as bright as the sun with that huge, beaming smile, Nagisa was like the moon, with a calm, gentler light. 

The first meeting was super awkward, but that was okay, because Hiyori really liked meeting new friends. Nagisa had trouble introducing himself, so the adults had to do it for him. Hiyori said hello. Nagisa slowly said hello back, with some hesitation. His smile was strange, but Hiyori didn’t care. Nagisa looked like a nice person, and that was all that mattered. Hiyori asked what kinds of things Nagisa liked to do. Nagisa didn’t say anything. Hiyori gave him some options. Reading? Watching TV? Playing with friends? Nagisa was still unresponsive. Hiyori gave Nagisa a book. Nagisa couldn’t read, and Hiyori was more than happy to read it out loud to him. 

It was a book about a boy who got lost in the woods, met the fairies of the forest, and had an adventure with them before being returned to his worried family. The text was simple, and there wasn’t much actual reading to be done, but the illustrations were more than enough to tell the story. Hiyori was as dramatic as he possibly could, imagining that the scenes on the pages were coming to life, and it was his job as the storyteller to transfer those emotions to Nagisa. They reached the end of the book. Hiyori looked to Nagisa, hoping that he enjoyed the experience just as much as he did. Nagisa smiled. Hiyori smiled back.

Hiyori asked Nagisa to show him something. Nagisa sang and danced. His voice was truly beautiful, the way his body moved was beautiful, everything about it was captivating and Hiyori couldn’t take his eyes off Nagisa for even a moment. Hiyori asked Nagisa what it was about. Nagisa said that it was something he was taught. Hiyori then asked Nagisa to teach him, but Nagisa had no idea how, so Hiyori settled on copying Nagisa’s movements. 

Hours later, both of them were exhausted, and they flopped around on the massive bed that they were to share. Nagisa said that he wanted to be an idol. Hiyori asked him what an idol was. Nagisa said that idols sang and danced. Hiyori excitedly held Nagisa's hand and said that he wanted to be an idol too, and they could be the best idols together. Nagisa smiled. Hiyori beamed.

Hiyori didn’t know it at the time, but a whole new world of possibilities had opened up for him. A hopeful, glittering future where he could shine like he had always wanted to.

* * *

That fuchsia-haired male had some nerve, convincing Hiyori to join his agency as he handed him a business card from the comfort of his car, all while Hiyori and Nagisa were tired and cold.

Ibara Saegusa. That was his name, was it? Even as rude as he was, Hiyori could see a path opening up in front of him. It was a possible place to go considering their contracts expired and they no longer had any purpose within Yumenosaki, but considering how fishy this whole situation was…

Nagisa said that Ibara “smelled like father”. No matter how hard Hiyori tried, there was no convincing Nagisa not to follow that Ibara person. Nagisa was family, and more than anything else in the world, Hiyori wanted to protect him, especially when he was drawn to a person who was nothing but suspicious.

Hiyori’s gut instinct was right, he learned. He also later learned that Ibara would eventually become someone that he accepted as more than an acquaintance, as their own production company turned against them and they had no one to rely on but themselves.

* * *

Jun might as well have literally left a bite mark that would last for all of eternity, because their first meeting was that powerful.

Hiyori remembered that day clearly, being drawn to such a captivating singing voice that there was no way that Hiyori was going to ignore it. Jun was sitting down in one of the lesser known corridors of Reimei Academy, where almost no sunlight reached. Hiyori didn’t like that it was awfully dark and the air was awfully cold. Maybe Jun was always around here because this kind of environment repelled the rest of the special students. Hiyori remembered the look Jun gave him at the very first glance; hate, anger, probably a message that was along the lines of  _ why the fuck are you here, go away. _ Then it all washed away and only fear was left, as Hiyori looked down at Jun and Jun looked up at Hiyori. 

Hiyori extended a hand towards Jun. Jun never physically took that hand, but his soul did. 

All Hiyori had asked was for him to sing something, and Jun reacted in spectacular fashion. He was well mannered. Hiyori didn’t really like that. It was no fun after all, but for some time, he tolerated it, because Jun must have gone through a lot as a non-special student. Seeing him visibly hold back his words and thoughts only caused Hiyori’s curiosity to rise because he wanted to know what he was thinking, but he decided that that was way too invasive on their first meeting, and settled with being entertained by Jun’s voice. 

Jun exceeded all of Hiyori’s expectations and Hiyori was so unbelievably happy that Jun gave him some funny looks, and then Hiyori had to spend some time reassuring Jun that no, he was not going to be beaten to the ground for showing that kind of expression towards a special student. Jun really was like an abandoned dog, except he held back whenever he wanted to lash out at Hiyori. The poor thing. He just wanted to protect himself and live. Hiyori could see the emotions every time they flared up. The worst thing that could happen was for Jun to run away and refuse his help when he so desperately needed it.

Fortunately, Hiyori respected Jun’s boundaries enough for that not to happen, and eventually, they were in a new subunit together.

Ohii-san. Hiyori liked that nickname. He loved being treated like a spoiled princess, he loved treating Jun like a slave, he loved demanding all the attention of the world and most importantly, he loved that he was allowed to exist as himself. 

Trickstar were a cute and interesting bunch, and as much as he enjoyed performing with them, he also thoroughly enjoyed performing with Jun. He always enjoyed performing with Jun as Eve, after all. Jun was to combine with him to share a body and soul, and Hiyori could never forget the amount of complaints that headed his way as they first practiced with that concept in mind. Jun didn’t like being touched initially. He got used to it, like Hiyori said he would. Every practice session, every single performance, every single moment that Hiyori got to spend with Jun always made him so happy that he felt like he could shine even as the weather turned foul and situations turned south. 

Not that this situation was anything bad, since everything went according to plan. Trickstar was absolutely defeated, walking straight into the trap that Eve had set, but seeing them have fun made Hiyori’s day.

At that moment, Hiyori saw it. Jun’s sunlit smile. 

That was enough, more than enough, for Hiyori to start thinking about whether Jun was actually a soulmate.

* * *

That fateful day, when the higher ups of Cosmic Production unleashed the nuclear weapon that destroyed all of Ibara’s plans, Hiyori only began to realise the true value of the people around him. 

Eden.

The staff that held up the company were no longer their allies, and their only bastion of hope was none other than their producer, Ibara Saegusa, who somehow still thought that he could maintain a business relationship with the rest of his unit members. This incident could change the idol industry forever, could change the futures of every single person performing, and yet, Ibara was so adamant on keeping his distance. Something about how he didn’t want the industry to fall into ruins when it had started racking up the money he wanted, blah blah blah, but Hiyori could see straight through it all. Surely, it wasn’t just about the money. Ibara may have became an idol purely out of convenience, but Hiyori guessed that there was something deep down within Ibara that motivated him to work so hard as a producer and an idol of Eden.

When they stood on stage and put their hands together (in almost Trickstar-like fashion, Hiyori thought with amusement, thinking about how allergic Ibara was to Yumenosaki-ism), Hiyori truly felt connected with them all. Nagisa. Ibara. Jun. They were all a part of Hiyori’s second family. Just like their unit name suggested, Eden was a paradise, filled with all of their raw talent and power as idols, but it was a refuge, another place Hiyori could call home. Their job as an idol unit was to give the audience an invitation so tempting that their only option was to take it, and...

Hiyori loved it. Hiyori loved every second of that performance, of that stage, in front of thousands of cheering fans and hundreds of cameras, because he was with Eden and there was no way that their love couldn’t be spread to every corner of the world. 

“Now’s the time of Genesis!!” 

Hiyori felt a surge of confidence as they reached the chorus with a kick and their voices came together in perfect unison. He could see it in the eyes of the idols performing with him; they were all having the time of their lives. Even Ibara, who always had an impenetrable mask, was smiling so widely that it was almost like he had become an entirely different person. Hiyori wondered what was going through everyone’s minds as they continued to sing and dance to their hearts’ content. 

SS was a competition after all, and Hiyori didn’t like losing, but he couldn’t care less about the results as long as he gave it his all and the rest of Eden gave it their all. 

They didn’t win. Hiyori didn’t mind that much. He got to spend this moment, on the biggest stage in the country, with those that he held dear.

* * *

It was all (or mostly) an act. 

Hiyori hated that the higher ups wanted Adam and Eve to fight, because they were all supposed to be one happy family that stuck together no matter what, but there was still a live to be done, and the leadup to that live was important too. The tears he shed that day in Jun’s dorm room weren’t real, but they also weren’t entirely fake. Just thinking about genuinely fighting Nagisa… that would be absolutely catastrophic. Then there was dragging Jun around, working him to the ground while Hiyori himself was completely fine… Jun ended up saying things that made Hiyori talk about his upbringing. Those memories were definitely more than a little unpleasant, but he hid all the pain and suffering behind his smile, just like how a noble should. 

Hiyori felt bad about increasing Ibara’s blood pressure, but that also meant that he was able to fool their producer, and it brought him more satisfaction that he probably should have felt. Hugging Nagisa felt great, seeing the stunned expressions of Jun and Ibara felt great, and it was like he and Nagisa were the ones in power (like they should be, as Adam and Eve’s leaders) rather than the younger ones who they relied on a little too much. Finally dropping the act took such a massive weight on Hiyori’s shoulders because he hated fighting, even if it wasn’t truly the case.

All doubts regarding his relationship with Nagisa were cleared before they went up on stage. The Conquest live was supposed to be structured like an Adam vs Eve showdown, but as Hiyori and Nagisa faced each other, they knew that it was just friendly competition. Like play fighting. No hard feelings, no malice, just two subunits showing off their growth and their skills ever since they were formed all that time ago. Now that Hiyori thought about it, Eve hadn’t existed for that long, but he felt as if he had been a part of Eve and Eden since forever.

Caressing Jun’s cheek was entirely on Hiyori’s whim, because he just couldn’t resist doing it. Jun was his pet just as much as he was his slave. Besides, his actions had caused Jun a decent amount of stress too, and giving him some love seemed like the most appropriate way to make up for it.

This live (and the days leading up to it) only further proved how unbreakable Eden’s bonds were.

* * *

The ceiling was white, Hiyori duly noted as he blinked the sleep away, realising that he was, indeed, not performing on stage at the Conquest live. Did he just see his entire life fly by in a single dream?

It took him a moment to remember that he was currently in Cosmic Production’s nap room, a room specifically reserved for employees to sleep in if they stayed too late for work. The room was filled with futons, and today, four of them were occupied, each one with an Eden member. 

It was still dark; a sign that Hiyori had woken up ridiculously early. There was no need to use the restroom, but he was as energetic as ever, upon realising that he had been able to sleep in the same room as the rest of Eden. He sat up, stretched, noted that Nagisa was on his left, and Jun was on his right, and-

That dumb snake was already trying to slither out of this situation. 

“Ibara!! Get back here!” Hiyori was on his feet in an instant, dashing towards his producer. Fortunately for Hiyori, Ibara hadn’t woken up completely yet, so he failed to dodge Hiyori’s tackle and they both went down together, a nearby futon cushioning their fall.    
“Your Highness! Can you please refrain from attacking me?”    
“Why can’t you just admit defeat and stay with us?” Hiyori whined. “We tried so hard just to get you to join us in our sleepover, you should at least appreciate our efforts!” 

Behind them, Nagisa and Jun groaned. Jun sounded especially displeased.   
“Ohii-san, why did you have to wake us up so early… the sun’s not even out yet…”   
“... Hiyori-kun, please don’t hurt Ibara.”   
“Ibara’s completely fine!” Hiyori shot back.   
“Perhaps I’ll be fine if you stop crushing me with your weight!” Ibara did his best to communicate while his face was squashed into a pillow. Hiyori promptly rolled off his producer and got to his feet, all without apologising (because Ibara definitely deserved it after trying to run away).

“... What should we do? We’re all awake now.” Eventually, all of Eden were seated in a circle on their futons. Nagisa decided to be the one to speak up first, perhaps acting on his role as Eden’s leader.   
“I want to go back to sleep…” Jun yawned.   
“I’d like to commence the working day immediately!” Ibara was visibly itching to get up and away from it all.

Hiyori was hit with the greatest idea ever.   
“Let’s go watch the sunrise!”    
“... Good idea. Sunrises are always beautiful.” Nagisa smiled.   
“Nagi-senpai, aren’t you tired?” Jun asked.   
“... Hiyori-kun has given me energy.”   
“While I’d love to accompany you guys, I’m very busy-”

“Ibara.” Nagisa spoke low, channeling as much of that dictator-like character that Ibara had spent so long refining in a practice room with Nagisa. Just like that, Ibara shut up, and Hiyori almost laughed at the sight of the usually proud and loud-mouthed producer being reduced to something more similar to an inanimate object.

“Yay, let’s go! We should hurry up and get dressed so we don’t miss the sunrise!” Hiyori beamed.   
“... Do you have any ideas on where we should go?” Nagisa asked.   
“Hmm… the floating garden! It already has such a nice view of the city in the day.”

“Sounds like a good place to me.” Jun agreed.    
“It’s settled then!” Hiyori’s smile grew impossibly brighter. Ibara had no objections.

* * *

A few flights down the stairs was enough to wake everyone up sufficiently, and soon, they arrived at their destination. The floating garden was always a nice change of scenery and every idol in ES appreciated the existence of such an extensive area that was filled with nature.

The darker purples of the night were already being pushed back by a faded blue by the time Eden reached the floating garden, a telltale sign that the sun was close to making its grand entrance. They located a suitable bench that allowed all of them to sit down, with Hiyori and Nagisa in the middle, and Jun and Ibara on the sides. Hiyori was sandwiched in between his childhood friend and Eve’s other half. The warmth was absolutely perfect. Nagisa wasted no time in putting an arm around Hiyori. Hiyori wasted no time in putting an arm around Jun. It was only a matter of time before Ibara was dragged into the collective group hug, with some effort from Nagisa.

The scene was as spectacular as Hiyori had imagined, and more. Blue was pushed back by intense orange as the sun peeked over a horizon littered with buildings and clouds, a surging ball of light that would stop at nothing. It was just the start of another day, but it was a beautiful start of another day, Hiyori thought, as the orange expanded its territory across the sky. The blue grew brighter, the sky in general grew brighter, and everything came to life as colours bloomed and birds chirped. It was a light more radiant than anything else in the world, and Hiyori realised the true meaning of the thing others associated with him: the sun.

Eden marvelled the sunrise in silence. When it was all finished, Hiyori knew that there was only one thing to say about it all.

“What fine weather!”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday, Hiyori!
> 
> This was the result of a collaboration I did with Nys, who drew accompanying art! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to collaborate (this is my first time collaborating with an artist)! You can view the art here.


End file.
